


What Pavel Said

by MaxWrite



Series: Nerds in Love [8]
Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-02-25
Updated: 2010-02-25
Packaged: 2017-10-18 13:33:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,025
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/189397
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MaxWrite/pseuds/MaxWrite
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Scotty is nothing if not proud of his culture, something Pavel really needs to remember.</p>
            </blockquote>





	What Pavel Said

"Ooooh, you're in trouble," said the captain as Pavel walked onto the bridge. At first Pavel wasn't sure Kirk was addressing him, but then Commander Spock spoke up.

"Captain, it is highly unprofessional to taunt an officer."

Pavel frowned at them as he relieved the officer at his station and took his seat. Kirk was in his chair; Spock was at his station at the back of the bridge. Dr. McCoy was also there, standing tall, stoic and grumpy next to Kirk.

"Captain?" Pavel said uncertainly. "Have I done something?"

"Not to me," said Kirk coolly.

"Quit bein' an ass, Jim," McCoy muttered. "It's none of your business anyway."

"Scotty told us," Kirk protested. "That makes it our business."

"He did not tell us," Spock said.

"What are you all talking about?" Pavel demanded.

"Scotty's not happy with you, young man," Kirk told him.

This came as a complete shock to Pavel. "He told you this?"

"Yep," said Kirk.

"No," said Spock and McCoy in unison.

"Well, which is it?" Pavel asked.

"He was muttering to himself," said McCoy. "We just overheard him."

"What did he say?"

"You really don't know?" asked Kirk.

"I told you," said McCoy. "Poor kid's clueless."

"That does not excuse his actions," said Spock. "Ignorance is never an excuse."

"Yeah, but he's still wet behind the ears, for cryin' out loud. Scotty oughta go easy on him."

"Chekov, how can you not know?" asked Kirk.

"Well, why would he?" asked McCoy. "He's not one of them, he probably has no reason to think whatever he said might be offensive."

"Wait, what did I say?" asked Pavel.

"You insulted Mr. Scott's people," explained Spock. "You disrespected his culture."

"I … _what_? When? How?"

"I don't think he meant it as an insult, Spock," said Kirk.

"Regardless of the intent, Mr. Scott found it offensive and is owed an apology."

Pavel tuned out the arguing for a moment and began flipping through his mental log of all the interactions he'd had with Scotty in the last 24 hours. He remembered the argument about who'd eaten all the peanut butter. He remembered Scotty growing tired of the argument and procuring more peanut butter to feed to Pavel with his fingers. He remembered Scotty growing tired of feeding him and proceeding to nibble Pavel's neck while undressing him. He remembered Scotty then doing many things to him with his fingers and mouth that made Pavel grin a big, dopey grin even now.

"Kid … KID."

Pavel snapped out of his reverie and blinked at McCoy in confusion. "I … uh … yes, doctor?"

"You went away there for a second, buddy," said Kirk.

"Sorry, captain," Pavel muttered, finally turning to his station. Thoughts of the previous night's events continued to play in his head as he worked and his dopey smile returned. It was a while before he remembered that his boyfriend was apparently very angry with him.

Pavel's break finally rolled around, so he left his station in the hands of another officer and headed for the turbolift. He was glad to finally have a moment alone. He'd been distracted all shift and was surprised he hadn't made any mistakes.

At first he thought nothing of it when Spock followed and joined him in the turbolift. But then, after the lift started moving, Spock cleared his throat in a very deliberate way.

Pavel glanced at him. "Commander?" he said uncertainly.

"Ensign," said Spock without looking at him. "If you have any questions, you may ask me if you wish."

"Questions, sir?"

"About relationships, for example."

"You … are offering me relationship advice?"

"You are quite young, and please correct me if I am mistaken, but this is your first serious romantic involvement, is it not?"

"Um, yes, sir, but –"

"I realize that Mr. Scott is rather gregarious and personable, but it might still be inadvisable to interact with him the same way you might interact with your peers. He is much more than a friend to you, and as such he most likely expects a certain level of sensitivity from you that he does not expect from others."

"Yes, sir, but –"

The lift slowed to a halt and Pavel stopped talking as the door opened, revealing Dr. McCoy. He paused in the doorway when he saw Pavel and Spock, then took the spot next Pavel, putting Pavel between the two older men. The door closed and the lift resumed its course.

"I take it from the look on the kid's face that you're trying to help him," McCoy said.

"To what look are you referring, doctor?" Spock asked.

"Ain't had a chance to name it yet. Seen it enough times, though. Looks a bit like constipation. Food poisoning maybe."

"I was merely advising the ensign that it is unwise to speak to his significant other in the same manner in which he would speak to his peers."

"Hmph. Sound advice."

"Is anyone going to tell me exactly what I did wrong?" Pavel finally asked.

"Not sure that's our place, kiddo," said McCoy. "Besides … we don't exactly know."

"We overheard Mr. Scott's complaints about his people being ridiculed by you," said Spock. "But that is the extent of what we heard."

"Ai-yai-yai," Pavel muttered, rubbing his forehead. "Can you at least tell me how much trouble I am in?"

McCoy and Spock exchanged a glance. Then McCoy looked down at Pavel and said, "You really don't know what you said?"

"No!" Pavel snapped. "I have no idea! He seemed fine this morning, he …" Pavel trailed off as something dawned on him. "Wait, was it … but I didn't mean anything by that. I have said it before, and he has threatened to break up with me over it, but he always says that as a joke."

"A joke can often hold a great deal of truth," Spock said.

"Like when I call him a green-blooded, pointy-eared bastard," McCoy said. "It's funny, sure, but 'pointy-eared' and 'green-blooded' are true."

Pavel found himself waiting for McCoy to say that "bastard" was also true. McCoy appeared to be finished speaking, though his mouth seemed to twitch a bit.

"The captain finds it amusing when I describe the doctor as emotional and contentious," said Spock. "But Dr. McCoy is often both of those things."

McCoy frowned. "You never called me that."

Spock cocked his head. "Perhaps I have said too much."

McCoy narrowed his eyes at him, and Pavel wondered if McCoy, too, suspected Spock had said exactly as much as he'd intended to.

"What do you think you said wrong, kid?" asked McCoy.

"Oh, uh, something about his kilt. I know it is not a skirt. He has told me this many times. 15-point-3 times to be exact. I call it that only to be playful. I thought he was okay with it."

"Sometimes people don't say what's buggin' 'em 'cause it makes 'em feel silly," said McCoy. "He probably thinks it shouldn't bother him as much as it does."

Pavel sighed. "I have to find him. Excuse me."

The lift had stopped on Pavel's floor. He was exiting when Spock called him. Pavel stopped and turned back.

"Yes, sir?"

Spock arched an eyebrow. "15-point-3?"

Pavel smiled. "I had to stop him once."

"What for?" asked McCoy.

Pavel remembered that night. He'd asked Scotty to put the kilt on again just for fun and had playfully called it a skirt while feeling around underneath it. Scotty had given it a valiant try, but with Pavel fondling him like that, he never did get all the words out.

"Is personal, sir," Pavel finally said. "With all due respect, of course." With a little nod, he spun around and took off for Engineering.

He found Scotty lying underneath an open control panel amongst a tangle of wires. Pavel approached and saw Scotty's sleeves rolled up, arms held aloft, one hand wielding a rather large wrench with a white-knuckle grip. Pavel's heartbeat quickened; he was pretty sure Scotty had no idea how sexy he was when he was working like this.

"Scotty?" Pavel called.

Scotty stopped and raised his head. "Oh. Hi," he said solemnly. He slid out from under the panel, stood and wiped sweat from his brow. He had the cutest little grease smudge on his cheek and it took everything Pavel had not to reach out to wipe it away. "What brings you by?"

Pavel hesitated. "If you are angry with me, I would prefer to hear it from you."

"Oh, bugger," Scotty grumbled. "They told you? This place is worst than a bloody high school."

"They overheard you complaining."

Scotty sighed. "Yeah, I know. Listen, Pavel, pet," Scotty said, taking Pavel by the shoulders and shifting him out of the way so he could go to another control panel not far from the first. "It's nothing, okay?" he said distractedly as he began punching buttons. "Everything's fine."

"If you are complaining loud enough for the captain to hear, it is not fine. Do you know how embarrassing it was to hear all of this from him?"

Scotty paused, stood there a moment, then turned back to Pavel, looking regretful. "You're right. I'm sorry. I'll be more careful in the future, I promise."

Pavel stepped closer. "I am sorry I hurt your feelings. I was only joking."

"I know, love, it's okay." Scotty wrapped his arms around Pavel, hugging him tight. Pavel gratefully melted against him, not caring who might see. "It's all gotten blown out of proportion, that's all."

"I won't say it again. It is insensitive and insulting to your people and their history."

"A little, yeah, but it's not a big deal, really. Let's just let it go."

"No." Pavel pulled back to look earnestly into Scotty's eyes. "I will never say it again. I thought it was funny, but it isn't. I love you so much." He raised a hand and tried to brush the grease from Scotty's cheek with his thumb. "I respect you more than any other man on this ship and I should act like it."

Scotty smiled at him, then took his hand and kissed it. "I love you too. I know you didn't mean anything by it."

"I would never try to hurt you deliberately. And, well …" Pavel began to blush. "You know how sexy I think it is, don't you?"

Scotty frowned. "Huh?"

"Sexy. The kilt. It is so much more than just a skirt," Pavel murmured, everything about him becoming more intimate, from his gaze to the tone of his voice. Scotty didn't respond in kind, however; his confusion only increased.

"Wait, what're you talking about?" Scotty asked.

"Uh … what are _you_ talking about?"

"Sandwiches."

"I … insulted sandwiches?"

"No, you insulted my people."

"Right, Scottish people."

"No, engineers!"

Pavel blinked at him.

"This isn't about the kilt … although that skirt business is gettin' a bit old."

"Scotty, what are you talking about?"

"Engineers can cook, Pavel," Scotty said indignantly. "We can cook circles around most people. We do not live on sandwiches, that's just daft!"

Pavel had to fight to keep from smiling. "Oh. I see." He took a deep breath to compose himself. If he laughed now, it was all over. He managed to keep a straight face as he said as soothingly as possible, "You are right, Scotty. I was an ass. I should not have said that. It was rude and insensitive."

Scotty's indignation seemed to subside and his muscles relaxed. "It's okay. I guess I do eat a lot of sandwiches."

Pavel smiled, then leaned in and pressed a firm kiss to Scotty's mouth. "I will have one waiting for you tonight when you get home," he murmured.

"Oh, yeah?" Scotty whispered. "What kind?"

"Mm, I think it will be … peanut butter …" Pavel placed another kiss on Scotty's mouth. "… jelly …" And then another one. "… with a little White Russian on the side."

"Mmph," Scotty grunted, squeezing Pavel against himself and nuzzling his cheek. "Can't wait to try that."

"I can't wait to give it to you," Pavel whispered. With a final, way-too-hot-for-the-middle-of-Engineering kiss, Pavel finally tore himself away and departed with a big grin on his face.

END

**Author's Note:**

>  **Note:** VIDEO PROOF: [An Engineer's Guide to Cats](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHXBL6bzAR4&feature=player_embedded). Of course, this fic has nothing to do with cats, but there is a small portion of the video that shows, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that bread-based meals are a staple, if not the entirety, of the engineer's diet. Also, the video is just plain hilarious, so enjoy!


End file.
